Machine gun mounting for aircraft



Nov. 4, 1941. R. H. MARTIN MACHINE GUN MOUNTING FOR AIRCRAFT Filed July 5, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvsmon BY I68) -1487/[0 ATroRNE Nov. 4, 1941. R. H. MARTIN MACHINE GUN MOUNTING FOR AIRCRAFT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fil ed July 5, 1938 INVENTOR.

BY M21342 ATTORNEYJ Nov. 4, 1941. R.H. MARTIN MACHINE GUN MOUNTING FOR AIRCRAFT Filed July 5, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INV EN 10R.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 4, 1941 2,261,121 mom GUN MOUNTING FOR AIRCRAFT Rudiger- H. Martin, oa s Park, calm, assignor to Dubois-Martln- Aircraft Corporation, Du

Bois, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 5, 1938, Serial No. 217,412

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved machine gun mounting for airplanes and has, for one of its principal objects, the provision of .a turret-like structure which ir'icloses one or more machineguns and a gunner, and which is built into either the lower portion of an airplane or other aircraftfu'selage or wing or the upper portion thereof, and which, furthermore, can be mechanically lowered below the underside of the fuselage or wingsor raised above thereof for firing purposes;

One of the important objects of this invention is the provision of a machine-gun turret or the like which can' be built'into the underside or upper side of an aircraft or other fuselage or, wings and which, in addition to projecting from the fuselage, can also be rotated throughout a 360 are, thereby making the same available for firing in any direction and also at anyangle with respectto the airplaneitself. 4 Another important object of the invention is the provision of means in such a turret-like structure for an airplane wherebythe same can be readily and simply rotated and controlled by the occupant with considerable speed, ease and accuracy, and without interfering in-any way with the operation or firing of thecontained Another and still further object of the invention resides in the'provision' of a machine-gun- I nerfs basket or turret for airplanes which is re-- "tractible intothe fuselage of the airplane when a not in use, thereby rendering the same absolutely non-interfering so far as the practical and-efficient operation of the airplane itself iscon-' 'cerned.

Other and further important objects of theinvention will'beapparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings and following speciflcationw- -The invention, in' a preferred form, is shown in the drawings and'herelnafter more fully de-:. scribed. w

. Inthedrawings: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation, parts being broken away and parts being shown in dotted lines, of the improved directional-machine-gun mounting for airplanes of this invention, showing the gunners turret or basket inoperative position and with the gun infiring position,

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the structure of Figural.

, basket assembly indicating the various supports Figure 4 is a top plan view of the turret or and controls.

Figure5 is a detail view or 'a partj'of the structure illustrated in Figure 3; namely, the'element v which raises and lowers the gun basket.

Figure. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5-, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the structure of Figure 4.

Figure-8 is aside view of the mounting used for a single Flgure9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 8, looking in thedirection indicated. v

the same being mounted in hearings or castings Figure 10 is an elevation of a modified form of the invention, showing a mounting for a p1 rality of guns.

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on the linell-Il of Figure 10;

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral I2 indicates generally.

the fuselage of'an airplane or other aircraft, and

in.the bottom of the fuselage is mounted the gun turret 'll of' this invention equipped, witha gun l6. s a

The detailsof the turret itself are best shown in Figures 3 and 4, the same including an elevator mechanism'comprising a shaft l8 having worm gears 20 thereon and at either end thereof,

22 through which the screw spindle moves, and mounted on the worm shaft I8 is a hand-wheel i 24 by means of which the shaft is turned, As

best shown in Figure 3, rotation of, the hand-'- wheel 24 and the worms 20 will, in turn, rotate correspondingly'screw-threaded shafts l9, mov- 'ingthe some up ordown through the castings or bearingsJZ, the lower ends of these shafts being pivotally connected to the forward end of the basket'or-turret It, the rear end being pivoted or hinged -as shown at 2| in Figure 1.

- The means by which the turret is rotated comprises essentially a pair of foot pedals 26which ar'e electrically'cqnnected to a driving motor 21,

, Figure 3 is anenlarged detail view of some of the structure illustrated in Figure 2, showing the gunners basket and its 'various appurtenances.

there. being also, associated with the rotatable structure a series of solenoids 28 which operate brake shoes 30, the brake shoes, in turn, enga ing a circumscribing .band which is part of the support 3| for the entire structure;

- Bearing wheels 32' support the rotary base on the shell or ring 3| and ride in the tracks 33 provided thereforin the shell.

A motor 21'drives the shaft 35 and gears '31 which engage a toothed rack 39 also mounted in the supporting shell or ring 3 I.

A continuous brake band 40 is fitted into the ring 3| for operation of the brake shoes 30 thereagainst, and at the lower edge of the ring 3| is provided a series of vertical thrust bearing wheels 42 operating in suitable guides as best shown in Figure 7.

At I9 in Figures 5 and 6 is shown the lower end of the screw spindle which raises and lowers the gun basket l4 and its pivoted connection to mountings 44 in the side of the basket, this being necessary in view of the differential in position inasmuch as the forward end of the gunners basket is lowered along an arc. The forward end of the basket is provided with a bullet-proof window 46 through which the gun [6 projects as best shown in Figure 3.

Figures 8 and 9 are detail views of a single gun mounting, the element 65 being a vertically pivoting clamp through which the gun barrel passes and in which it is held by means of set screws 81, the device being pivoted on a pin 69 and at the lower end is provided a pin 68 upon which the mounting turns in a horizontal plane. 10 is a stationary track for the gun and 12 represents the sliding pivotal base.

Figures 10 and 11 show modified forms of gun mountings wherein two or more guns may be supported, the reference numerals 14 in each case representing slings or castings for support of side guns, these being swingingly mounted upon a shaft 16. Likewise on such a shaft is mounted a clamp 66 for a single gun such as shown in Figures 8 and 9, and the remainder of the structure including the pin 68 upon which the mounting turns, the stationary track 10 in which the device is positioned, and the sliding pivotal base 12 are the same as in connection with the single mounting gun shown and described in Figures -8 and 9. The pivotal mounting is shown at 18.

In operation, the gunner first positions himself in the basket or turret M as shown in Figure 1, and reaching down toward the front of the basket, lowers the forward part of the structure by means of a hand-wheel 24 and then slides the gun or guns l6 forward and positions himself behind the same in a prone position also as illustrated in Figure 1, extending his legs upward from his knees, he engages his feet in the right and left stirrup pedals 26 which operate the motor 21 in the rotary base and support. By exerting pressure on either pedal, he will engage the motor to rotate him to the right or left asdesired, this rotation being accomplished by means of the motor shaft 35, the gears 31 and the rack 39,'all as best shown in Figure 4.

The operation of starting the motor automaticallyshuts off the. current to the solenoid brakes 28, thus releasing them from the brake band ill in the ring 3| and allowing the turret to rotate. Obviously, this'rotation can take place through an arc of 360. Six of the bearing wheels 32 ride on the lower half of the track in the ring 3| and six ride on the upper half of the track 33, this method of supporting automatically compensating for changes in direction of thrust due to maneuvering of the plane. The twelve sidethrust bearings 42 on the stationary shell riding against a track 80 on the side of the rotary base (Figure 7) take care of changes in off-vertical thrusts. A solid bearing surface between the sides of the gunners basket I4 and the rotary base as the basket is raised or lowered is accomplished by hearing strips il.

The opening in the front end of the gunners basket is sufiicient so that the guns may be swung for approximately five degrees to either side or can be deflected a similar distance upward and downward, this allowing for manual aiming without rotating the basket.

The described structure may also be mounted in the upper surface of the fuselage in which case the process and means of elevation and depression of the turret or basket and the other operation thereof is practically identical with that described herein with exception that the gunner may be positioned seated, with suitable forwardly projected extensions of foot-pedals 26. When so mounted the turret is elevated for firing position instead of depressed and is lowered into retracted position. Also the described structure may be mounted in the wings instead of the fuselage, with identical efiect.

It will be obvious that herein is provided a turret-shaped structural device consisting of a rotary base, a gunners basket therein, all mounted in a supporting shell which constitutes an aircraft armament including a directional machinegun monitor, enabling the airplane or other aircraft equipped therewith to operate very effectively on the offensive and from a position which has heretofore been considered very ineffective so far as offensive work is concerned.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose imiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A directional machine-gun mounting for airplanes, comprising a stationary supporting shell positioned inside the airplane and forming an integral part of the airplane, a circular track on the supporting shell, a rotary base mounted inside the track, a series of bearing wheels between the base and track, and a gunners basket hingedly mounted in the rotary base, and means for mechanically tilting the basket into a position outside and below the body of the airplane,

a friction brake strip in the supporting shell, and a series of electrically operated brake shoes nor-.- mally acting against thebrake strip for stopping the basket in any desired position.

2.. A directional machine-gun mounting for airplanes, comprising a stationary supporting shell positioned inside the airplane and forming an integral part of the airplane, a circular track onthe supporting shell, a rotary base mounted inside the track, a series of bearing wheels between the base and track, and a gunners basket hingedly mounted in the rotary base, and means for mechanically tilting the basket into a position outside the airplane, a friction brake strip in the supporting shell, and a series of electrically operated brake shoes normally acting shell positioned inside the airplane and forming an integral part of the airplane, "a circular track on the supporting shell, a rotary base mounted inside the track, a series of bearingwheels between the base and track, and a gunners basket hingedly mounted in the rotary base, and means for mechanically tilting the basket into arposition outside the airplane, a friction brake strip in the supporting shell, and a series of electrically operated brake shoes normally acting against the brake strip, together with an electric motor in the base, a spur gear operated by the motor, a

5 supporting shell.

gear tooth rack mounted on the inside face of the supporting shelLand in mesh with the .spur

gear of the motor, and vertical and horizontal thrust bearings between the rotary base and the RUDIGER n. MAR'I'IN. 

